I live just outside of Philadelphia and was listening to PHL departure tonight (via the LiveATC app on my iPad). Immediately after departure, US 754 (PHL-CDG), an A330-200, requested to enter holding in order to burn down fuel to their max landing weight for an emergency return.

They're still holding south of the field as of 8:05 EST. I didn't catch the nature of their problem. But based on the calmness of the radio transmissions, it doesn't sound like it's too serious. I'll keep listening and will update as anything else comes up.

Quoting CO764 (Reply 5):It appears that their speed was fluctuating quite a bit (from about 180 to 230 knots),

The fluctuation is very regular. The track shows that they were in a holding pattern for some time. As they enter the turn, the speed would drop and as they go into the straightaways, the speed would increase.

What sort of issue would lead an aircraft like this to not land immediately, but not fly to its destination?